Why race if you don’t have money?

Chapter 330 The Legendary Circle of Stars

"North, prepare to enter the station."

Odette’s instructions came immediately, followed by a further statement.

"That was a beautiful run."

The qualifying results in Monaco are arguably the most prestigious race on the F1 calendar, if not the most prestigious.

Even if a rookie hasn't secured pole position yet, as long as they can run the fastest lap, they've already performed exceptionally well.

Even though Odeto wasn't like Briatore, who was prone to making exaggerated claims and popping champagne at the halfway point, he still couldn't help but praise Chen Xiangbei in advance, seeing the shadow of a future superstar in the motorsport world!

"Received. Also, please retrieve the car camera footage from earlier."

"Bei, don't put too much pressure on yourself, you ran very well."

Upon hearing this, Hiroki Sawano immediately offered a word of advice.

He had already sensed the immense pressure Chen Xiangbei was under from Odeto's earlier warning.

The ten-minute interval between qualifying sessions is usually used by drivers to go to the toilet or drink water, and at most they may discuss their condition with the strategy team. They will not watch any onboard video recordings at all.

The reason is simple: you can't see anything in a short time, and besides, you can't change the car settings in qualifying. Doing so would only add pressure and trouble to yourself and would be meaningless.

"No, it's not fast enough."

Chen Xiangbei shook his head.

From both his own perspective and from the perspective of others, the previous lap was almost perfect.

The problem lies precisely in the word "perfect".

This means that it is almost impossible for Chen Xiangbei to improve his lap time; he has reached the speed limit of both himself and the car.

However, this is not the upper limit for Red Bull, Mercedes, or even Ferrari and McLaren.

Chen Xiangbei has a god-like perspective on history and can almost certainly say that if Vettel, Alonso, Rosberg, and others were to break out of their shells, their lap times in Q3 would be even faster.

Indeed, this was the case; they all chose to conserve their strength in Q2.

Chen Xiangbei has reached his limit, but his opponent is not. It seems that the whole stadium is cheering that the Chinese boy has dominated the Monaco circuit, but in reality, it is more like a harbinger of disaster.

"Xiang Beijun, I think..."

Hiroki Sawano wanted to persuade him further, but Odeto shook his head at him and said, "Do as Kita says. He has his own judgment and choices."

Since we've come this far, instead of pointlessly arguing about whether it's feasible, we should let Chen Xiangbei decide for himself.

Adults should be responsible for themselves.

When car number 13 returned to the team's pit garage, Chen Xiangbei immediately stood in front of the computer, watching the video of his lap, silent and with a serious expression.

No one knew what he was thinking, and no one bothered him.

As time went on, the third qualifying session entered the start preparation phase.

Inside the Ferrari pit lane, Domenicali officially gave the order: "Alonso, you need to push off pole position this lap."

Domenicali is not a particularly strong team principal, mainly because the Ferrari trio was so famous that it left other team strategy members with little say, and it was difficult for him to establish authority after the team disbanded.

Another point is that Ferrari's two drivers, Massa and Alonso, are both veteran and well-known drivers in the paddock, and they cannot be treated with the same condescension as newcomers.

Especially Alonso, currently the strongest driver in the paddock, the current GOAT after Schumacher, he has to be given some respect.

Just like the Red Bull Racing team in later years, they treated their number two driver like cannon fodder, changing drivers every now and then, but treated Verstappen like an ancestor.

Even as a driver, he was qualified to intervene in the power struggle between Marko and Horner.

Domenicali used to have a lot of confidence in Alonso. He believed that younger drivers like Hamilton and Vettel could not threaten the strongest driver in the paddock, and that as long as the car was not slow, he could win the championship.

The problem now is that Ferraris aren't fast enough!
In terms of absolute performance, Ferrari is the second or third fastest in the paddock, almost on par with McLaren and HRT.

In addition, what put Domenicali under even more pressure was that he realized he had underestimated the newcomers in the paddock.

Leaving aside Hamilton and Vettel, who have already won championships and runner-up titles to prove their top talent, even Chen Xiangbei, a newcomer from China, now has the ability to threaten Alonso.

Holding the top spot in the standings by only a few points is really not enough to guarantee a comfortable position.

Alonso must win this Monaco Grand Prix to more secure the 10 World Championship title.

The title of Triple Crown Winner will be awarded at this race!
"I'll do my best."

Alonso understood the seriousness of the situation. He wasn't arrogant and genuinely considered all the championship contenders as his most threatening rivals.

Domenicali felt a little relieved after Alonso's statement.

With only ten cars left to compete in Q3, the track traffic and road conditions are basically ready for immediate use, so there is no need to deliberately wait for a window of opportunity to race.

As the qualifying session began, the two Red Bull Racing cars were the first to leave the pits. In order to secure pole position and gain an advantage from the front row, the team reached a gentleman's agreement.

That means whoever runs the slowest will be responsible for creating a wake for the fast train.

Monaco's lack of long straights means their wake-up effect is not good enough.

However, the difference in lap times in qualifying has now reached a thousandth of a second. Even a slipstream that can make you 0.01 seconds faster is enough to determine the final outcome.

Immediately afterwards, Ferrari and Mercedes pulled out of the pits and sped off, while the two HRT cars were still waiting for their turn. Perez had already taken his seat in the cockpit, but Chen Xiangbei was still standing in front of the computer screen watching the in-car video.

"Team leader, should we hurry up and head north?"

Mizutani Sho sounded a bit anxious, as the third quarter of the qualifying round was the shortest, lasting only 12 minutes in total.

If you include the warm-up and cool-down laps, you can only do a maximum of two flying laps, and you have to leave the pits at the very beginning.

Chen Xiangbei is currently watching his own in-car video, which means he will lose the margin for error by running two laps. The Monaco circuit itself has a very low margin for error, so there is practically no intention of giving him a second chance.

"No need, he'll keep track of the time."

Odeto shook his head, his tone calm.

A driver who doesn't even have the most basic concept of qualifying time management is a joke.

During their conversation, Trulli came to Chen Xiangbei's side and said, "You did a perfect job on the cornering line we learned last night. Now it seems there's almost no room for improvement in the onboard line."

"It might be better to adjust your mindset; that might yield better results."

Trulli's point is clear: when a driver's control reaches its peak, nitpicking becomes meaningless.

Condition and performance play a more decisive role.

Just like the often-mentioned top F1 drivers, the competition is no longer about driving skills, but more about mental fortitude and performance. "What I saw was not the line taken in the corners last night."

"Then what are you looking at?"

Trulli looked somewhat surprised. Chen Xiangbei wasn't actually striving for perfection?
"New wiring."

"New wiring?"

"Ah."

"Q3 has already started, what new routing options do you have?"

"You'll find out later."

After saying that, Chen Xiangbei turned around, grabbed his helmet, and sat in the racing cockpit, leaving Trulli standing there bewildered.

Is this Chinese kid trying to do something "innovative"?

Monaco is not a new track. Over decades of racing history, there may have been some adjustments to the details of certain corners, but the overall layout has remained largely the same.

This means that every racing line and every braking point on the track has been tried by drivers, leaving little room for innovation.

Even if it were possible, it would be impossible to come up with it in the ten minutes or so between matches.

Even if he could figure it out, Chen Xiangbei only had one chance in Q3, so he wouldn't have a chance to verify it!
Taking the chance to decide the world champion and running a completely new route that has never been tested before, Trulli doesn't know whether to call Chen Xiangbei bold or ignorant.

Chen Xiangbei didn't know what Trulli was thinking, but he could guess from the changes in Trulli's expression.

I am neither bold nor ignorant.

Chen Xiangbei did not choose to leave the station first because he needed time to watch the onboard video and mentally simulate the new route.

On the other hand, he needs to observe his opponent's speed before deciding whether to proceed.

In any competitive sport, the value of a champion far exceeds that of a runner-up.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call the runner-up the biggest loser!
If he doesn't win the Monaco championship, then no matter what place he gets, it won't mean anything to Chen Xiangbei, because it's not just about being the biggest loser, but also about completely losing his qualification to compete for the world championship.

If his opponents can maintain a lap time of 1 minute 12.7 seconds or higher, then Chen Xiangbei will not take the risk.

However, if the opponent breaks through this limit, Chen Xiangbei will not be able to run a faster time under normal circumstances, so he must go all out and take a desperate gamble.

At this moment, Chen Xiangbei turned his gaze away from Trulli and looked up at the wall-mounted broadcast screen, where the leaderboard leader's lap time had reached 1 minute 12.698 seconds.

The breakthrough happened faster than Chen Xiangbei had anticipated.

Without much hesitation, the moment the starting indicator light turned green, Chen Xiangbei stepped on the gas and drove out of the pit lane, heading towards the main track of Monaco.

The two commentators in the studio didn't notice the last HRT team car leaving the pits; they were still immersed in the shock of the track records being broken one after another.

"1 minute 12 seconds! The fastest lap time, which was held for less than 691 seconds, was broken by Webber from Red Bull Racing. The Schumacher track record, which was once considered insurmountable, is now 0.1 seconds faster!"

While Reid was still marveling at Webber's speed, local commentator Henry suddenly yelled, interrupting his commentary.

"1 minute 12.784 seconds! Ladies and gentlemen, you heard right! Rosberg from the Mercedes team has once again surpassed his own fastest lap time and taken the top spot!"

"Driving a car in the middle of the paddock, Rosberg has repeatedly created the miracle of setting the fastest lap time, proving his worth as a new generation driver. The only difference between him and Hamilton is a faster car!"

Henry felt his eyes welling up with tears. Even though Rosberg wasn't exactly a native Monaco driver, he still managed to shock and move him.

It's worth noting that even the top-performing groups in Mercedes racing car performance standards only managed a fastest time of fourth place in the paddock.

If the difference in top speed alone is insufficient to determine the outcome, then there is an even better benchmark: Michael Schumacher.

At this race, even Schumacher, who holds the track record, couldn't even finish in Q3!
At the Monaco Grand Prix, Rosberg created the biggest qualifying gap with Schumacher, proving the upper limit of his driving skills. He is a driver of the same generation as Hamilton, whose talent is no less than his.

But Henry's joy didn't last long, as a name suddenly appeared at the top of the list.

He is Alonso from the Ferrari team!
The Monaco circuit doesn't rely heavily on the car's performance; it tests drivers' skill and experience more.

Coincidentally, both of these are Alonso's strengths.

At this moment, Alonso demonstrated what absolute dominance means, and showed the world why he will become the next GOAT-level driver in the paddock. His personality flaws could not hinder his ability to perform.

When it comes to the fate of lacking a fast car, no one can compare to Alonso.

Even if he drives a slow car, he can still reach the top!
With a time of 1 minute 12.589 seconds, who can compete with him?
Hearing the numbers coming through their headsets, Webber, Alonso, Rosberg, and Vettel all gaped in disbelief.

How could Alonso be 0.2 seconds faster than Schumacher's pole position record?
Perhaps affected by this result, Vettel, who should have been pole position in history, made a clear mistake on the flying lap, and his overall speed plummeted, dropping him to sixth place.

This result infuriated Marko so much that he slammed his fist on the table. You have to understand that Vettel was the team's designated core player and the future world champion!
Just as everyone was amazed by Alonso's performance, a "black lightning bolt" began to speed across the track.

Underneath the helmet, Chen Xiangbei was no longer the expressionless man he used to be. Instead, his face was filled with surging fighting spirit and arrogant ambition, showing his desire for the Monaco championship to the fullest.

I'm going to run the fastest lap, I'm going to rise to the top, I'm going to prove that this era has changed.

The title of King of Monaco no longer belongs to you, Alonso!
The extreme speed of the race car seemed to speed up time itself. Many people were still in a daze, only to see Chen Xiangbei's taillights flash past their eyes.

Fast, damn fast!
A few spectators realized what was about to happen and began to shout wildly.

"I have a feeling that North is going to take pole position."

"1 minute 12.589 seconds is Alonso's limit, not North's limit!"

"There is no track in this world that Chen Xiangbei cannot conquer, and the title of King of Monaco will be crowned by an Eastern driver."

"Go Chen Xiangbei, let me witness your legendary moment!"

Chen Xiangbei's fans and car enthusiasts have always maintained absolute trust in him.

It's not surprising that they have this kind of trust. What's really strange on the track is that, faced with all sorts of arrogant declarations, no one has spoken up to question or refute them, and there's none of the usual cold stares and ridicule.

The spectators inside the enclosure fell silent.

Their silence stemmed from the glaring "purple" on the lap timer, signifying that Chen Xiangbei had achieved the fastest speed of the entire race during the timing segment.

This is what it means to change the world with strength.

Even if he were to declare himself the King of Monaco in advance, no one would dare to stand up and refute him.

"I thought that Bei's performance in the second qualifying session had prematurely revealed his true potential. But now I understand that Bei is truly showing his full potential on the track right now."

"Ladies and gentlemen, let's cheer for driver Bei's victory! He set a lap time of 1 minute 12.557 seconds, beating Alonso by a mere 0.032 seconds to take pole position at the Monaco Grand Prix."

"I would call this circle the Circle of Stars. From now on, Bei will no longer be a rising star, but will become the next superstar!"

(End of this chapter)